First off, different countries might do it differently, but last time I renewed my American passport I was allowed to keep the expired one - was encouraged to do so, since they told me it speeds along the process should I ever need to have my current one replaced. Though I've never had to test this out, I travel with it tucked far back into deep interior pocket of my suitcase.

As for being let go ... the time for the school's director to decide that you don't have what it takes to work for him is some time within the first 3 or 4 months, not later than that. Take it to the Labor Board, and as you do so, let your boss know that you consider your reputation as an educator to be important enough that you're going to do a little work to protect it. I'm told that this practice of dumping employers as a cost-cutting move (to avoid paying the airfare and bonus money) used to be much more common but nowdays the authorities look askance at it when they see it - make sure they do.

Your boss can probably make you happy by offering you a proportionate amount of your bonus and airfare. After all, you are not comfortable there, right? Don't let them snow you into thinking you really are a bad teacher - they don't care about the quality of instruction, most likely, just about the numbers in the bank account. At this point of the process, you oughta care about that also.

>. Is having you director sit your down & (through the Korean translator you've intensively tutored for the past 10 months) telling you your contract is going to be terminated less than 2 months short of you receiving your bonus the SAME as being fired ??? Boy was i blown away when they dropped this dirty little Kimchi bombshell on me Friday as we closed

Is it natural for ppl to feel maybe just a little piss%d off over this kinda garbage ??? Between getting shafted by a phony ESL-LINK recruiter and the ever looming threat of "Oh my now, we have reports suggesting you've been a very bad boy" bogus-blacklisting, the whole thing has left me feeling rather used. Half of this old bag of bones wants to laugh while the other ... well ... you figure it out